'Three Musketeers' a swashbuckling sensation at North Shore Music Theatre

Thursday

Aug 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2007 at 11:37 PM

The dashing and dazzling swordplay is there aplenty, and it’s wildly creative and dangerous looking, but it’s not the reason this show may be destined for Broadway.

By Sally Applegate

The dashing and dazzling swordplay is there aplenty, and it’s wildly creative and dangerous looking, but it’s not the reason this show may be destined for Broadway.

It’s the intelligence and humanity at the core of this new show’s book, score and direction that could lift “The Three Musketeers” to ultimate success. The swashbuckling swordfest is playing at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly in its New England premiere.

Composer George Stiles and lyricist Paul Leigh have framed Peter Raby’s intelligent book in a soaring, witty and heartrendingly beautiful score. The resulting musical is a searching psychological extension of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel on which William Hobbs based his concept for this production.

This show is not the lighthearted devil-may-care romp you might recall from the movies. It is instead, a realistic, soul-searching attempt to get closer to the original classic novel. It is not short and zippy, but rather lengthy and full of riveting, sometimes dark, but beautiful imagery, reminiscent of “Les Miserables.”

Stiles and Leigh have created a score that breaks into clarity in the midst of complexity. Stiles’ background music under many scenes is astonishingly powerful, and for this one must also credit the rich, sweeping orchestrations of David Shrubsole.

Director Francis Matthews has taken this classic tale and skillfully interspersed frenetic action with crystal clear and psychologically revealing moments between the main characters. His handling of the night scenes in Paris turns the women of the ensemble into darkly menacing wraiths as they wind sinuously through the dark streets during the powerfully written “Paris By Night.”

Shining at the center of this production is an energetically youthful performance by Aaron Tveit as the idealistic D’Artagnan, seeking to join his heroes in the glory of being a musketeer. Tveit seems to capture the very essence of youth and vigor in his speech, graceful and athletic movements — including some superlatively executed swordplay, and his sweet, clear tenor voice. Credit composer Stiles for filling D’Artagnan’s melodic songs with a complementary youthful energy.

At the same time Tveit skillfully handles sophisticated and humorous dialog that highlights the brash country boy as one who laughs in the face of danger, like the legendary three musketeers of the novel’s title.

Playing the doomed Constance, Jenny Fellner skillfully performs some of the nicest music in the score with Tveit. Their voices blend well together in the gently intertwining countermelodies of “Doing Very Well Without You.” She also shares a similarly well-constructed duet with Heather Koren as Queen Anne in “Any Day,” a lovely simple, straightforward song. Although some of Fellner’s solos take her a bit outside the top range of her comfort zone where voices thin out in the stratosphere, she makes a sweetly convincing heroine.

Like the rest of the cast, Kate Baldwin as the treacherous Milady appears to have been directed by Matthews to go for naturalism as opposed to over-the-top villainy. Baldwin’s singing voice is not enormous, but it displays an impressive range of tone and expression.

John Schiappa delivers a powerful and riveting performance as Athos. The Broadway veteran has a compelling stage presence. You believe this musketeer from the moment you meet him.

Kevyn Morrow is suave and persuasive as Aramis, and as Porthos, Jimmy Smagula, possibly at the insistence of the director, resists what was probably the temptation to take the foppish musketeer over the top.

The musketeers have a wonderful number with D’Artagnan. “Count Me In” marks the first collaboration between the four. Its clear and melodic connective material breaks into creative harmonies for the four singers, with a satisfying joining and lifting of their swords in the novel’s iconic image at the song’s end.

Comic relief is provided by the amiable performance of Steven Booth as D’Artagnan’s serving man Planchet. There is also comic relief in the second-act ensemble number “A Good Old-Fashioned War.”

Comic relief aside, this is clearly not a show for people seeking a light-hearted, feel-good night out at the theater. This one is for those who hunger for a show with depth and purpose and recognize a brilliantly realized musical score when they hear one. Musical theater is a very large universe. There is plenty of room in it for both kinds of shows.

There will undoubtedly be some trimming of the show’s length along the road to Broadway, and more finessing of the script. In the meantime, North Shore audiences are getting a chance to see a courageous concept in musical theater.

Interested?

“The Three Musketeers” continues through Sept. 9, with Tuesday and Thursday performances at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday performances at 8 p.m., and matinees on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $35 to $70, with senior and youth discounts and rush tickets available. Tickets can be ordered online at www.nsmt.org, by calling the box office at 978-232-7200, or in person at 62 Dunham Road in Beverly.

Free audience events include a post-show audience discussion with the artists on Sept. 8 after the 2 p.m. performance; Spotlight on History, a free pre-show discussion focusing on historical issues relating to the performance before the Sept. 2 matinee; and Out at the North Shore, an evening for the Gay and Lesbian Community with a post-show reception on Sept. 6.

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